


(Untitled For Now)

by RichelleGy



Category: Original Work
Genre: Camp, Childhood Friends, Fantasy, I'll tag this as I go since I don't want to spoil anything, Mental Institutions, Multi, OC, Panic Attacks, Repressed Memories, School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:58:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichelleGy/pseuds/RichelleGy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Richelle Lynn, a 13 year old, has been living in an institute for half her life because of a childhood friend that may or may not have existed. When she finally has a slight chance at a normal highschool life, her past barges into her present. When asked to choose between someone who meant the world to you but left and someone who you just met but might have changed your world; who would you choose?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

When I was a kid, I had a friend. A very special friend. 

We were always together and I didn't have to worry about anyone stealing him away from me because he was someone only I can see. 

He's wherever I am and does what ever I do. 

Mommy and Daddy says he doesn't exist. I don't believe them. 

One day, Mommy said l had to leave her and Daddy for a while.

They left me at a camp and said that I could go home soon.

The lady at the camp brought me to a room and said she would come get me soon. I heard the door lock.

The room didn't have much so I talked to my friend.

As more and more days passed by, I began to lose my perception of time. Months, maybe years, went and gone.

The only thing that kept me from going insane was my friend. He always shows up when I call for him each day. But eventually, he stopped coming and everything was silent.

Silence.

Silence.

Sometimes I wish I could go to sleep and never wake up.

Silence.

Silence.

Silencesilencesilencesilencesilencesilencesilence.

Click.

The door swung open.

The mean lady came and got me. It didn't feel very soon.

~~~~~

I was let out of the room and brought to another part of the camp. The lady introduced me to Lauren, one of the camp's many instructors. Lauren, then introduced me to one of the camp's many groups.

The lady told me I was going to have fun with all the kids here.

As I looked around, I felt very out of place. Most of the kids were either stabbing their desks with their pencils or scribbling in their notebooks. That is, if they weren't busy drooling all over the desks.

I ask when Mommy and Daddy were going to come and get me.

The lady said very soon.

It wasn't until I was 8 that I realized that the camp was a mental institute for kids.

It wasn't until I was 10 that I befriended someone who was at least slightly normal. She eventually left.

It wasn't until I was 13 that I finally saw my parents again. Didn't feel very soon.


	2. Chapter 1

"Ellie?"

I looked up from the book I was reading, a classic tragedy, to stare at my mom's back.

"Have you thought about going to school?" she questioned while keeping her back facing me. It was starting to get annoying. 

"No." I looked back down.

"Well," I heard the continuous scrubbing of the dishes, "how would you feel if I said that I enrolled you into Westwood Academy?"

Westwood Academy, a prestigious high school that only accepts those with talent or money. Located on a tall hill that's right next to Westend Grove, you can see where the name came from.

"Isn't that a high school?" I quirked an eyebrow but didn't make a move to look up.

Mom let out a small chuckle, probably because she could hear the amusement in my voice, and continued to do the dishes for a while before answering. "Yes, but you're smart enough." Another plate. "And plus, they accepted already."

Being in the camp didn't really provide you with much to do, so I spent my time reading. They actually had a surprisingly large library. I guess you could say I'm smarter than the average bear(and human for that matter). The fact that Westwood Academy would accept me, a 13 year old, just kind of adds to it.

I stared at my book without reading it for a while before looking up at, surprise, my mom's back.

"Why now?" I asked. Why not 5 years ago?

Her hands stopped the repetitive scrubbing for a second before resuming. "We just thought that now would be the right time." She put down the towel and, for a moment, I thought she would turn around. Instead, she placed her hands onto the counter and looks out the kitchen window. I could see that the conversation wasn't going to go any further so I stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Wait."

I stopped dead halfway through the doorway.

"Don't forget to go shopping for supplies since school starts next week."

The clacking of silverware was all I could hear as I made my way upstairs.

After locking the door, I flopped onto my bed.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Sitting up, I reached for the pair of headphones I had gotten as a home coming gift. The music helped with the silence.

Closing my eyes, I payed back down with the headphones over my ears.

The people at the camp had finally let me go after deeming me "sane". Sad thing is, the time spent there really did get me to forget him partially. I haven't been able to remember his name or face ever since. Though sometimes, I would get snippets of our time together in my dreams.

Most of my dreams though, it's silence. Time spent in that room.

Silence.

Darkness.

I don't know when, but I eventually fell asleep.

Of course, I had another dream. But this one was different.

It was him, but not him. He was giving off a strange vibe. Everything that happened in the dream was the usual, but I felt...uncomfortable.

At the end of the dream, right before I woke up, he did something that surprised me. He spoke.

Before, he would always say the same thing over and over again. I didn't like it, since it made him sound like a broken record, but I lived with it.

But this time, he said something I never heard him say before.

"Soon."


	3. Chapter 2

I woke up to arguing. Specifically, mom and dad's arguing.

Life hasn't been easy for them ever since I came back home. Mom was the one who welcomed me back, but dad wasn't as cheerful. He still thinks that I'm, and I quote, "an unstable child that could explode at any second."

I didn't go down stairs until I heard the front door slam close. Twice.

Reaching the kitchen, I found a note on the table and some money. I quickly got ready and dressed before grabbing the cash, no I'm not robbing a bank, and leaving the house.

~~~~~

The walk to get to the store was longer than I would have liked. Though it was pretty well worth it. The place was air conditioned. After walking in the sun for a hour, it practically felt like heaven.

Wandering through the aisles for the proper books and supplies, I realized that I would still have enough money left to get the new book by one of my favorite author, Vivian Anderson. Her books are generally dark, yet keeps you deep in thought. 

Quickly making my way towards the book aisle, I saw that there was only one copy left.

As I extended my hand to grab the last book, another grabbed it at the same time.

I looked up to see a boy, around my age, with obviously bleached blonde hair and multiple ear piercings. Yet, despite all that, he still managed to look...naive? His huge, seriously they are enormous, brown eyes stared back at me. Well, they aren't exactly brown. More like brown with a tint of some other colors that kind of swirled together.

Needless to say, we both quickly let go of the book.

I glanced around everywhere but him before mumbling a quick, "Sorry." Yeah. Not a people person.

His baffled expression quickly morphed into a smile. "Don't worry about it!" He grabbed the book and placed it into my still outstretched hands. "If you want it, you can have it."

I almost flinched when he flashed the thousand watt smile. Too bright. "Um...you sure?" I asked. This guy is being suspiciously nice to a stranger he just met.

Nice guy here just nodded his head. "Yeah, totally!" He turned his attention towards inspecting another title. "I can always wait for more copies and plus," he puts down the book, "you looked like he really wanted it." He suddenly turned to look at me and smiled. "Hope I see you again, Richelle."

I stood there, book in hand, staring at the guy's retreating back.

Exiting the store, I remembered the fact that I didn't ask the guy for his name.

~~~~~

The moment I reached my room, I dropped everything and picked up the newly purchased book. Flipping through the book, I soaked everything in. It was only when mom called me down for dinner, that I stopped.

I sat there, staring at my book, for a while. The words didn't actually process through my brain since I was more focused on the nagging feeling at the back of my mind.

Something was wrong, but I didn't know what.

It wasn't until I was in bed, ready to sleep, that I realized what it was.

At the end of our brief exchange, the boy had said my name.

I never told him my name.


	4. Chapter 3

The next morning, mom and dad weren't home when I woke up. Considering it is three in the afternoon now, their absence was reasonable.

Trudging my way downstairs, I almost fell asleep again when I collapsed onto the sofa. Before I blacked out completely, I reminded myself of the current mission. Food.

Making my way to the kitchen, I noticed a single envelope left on the dining room table. 

Picking it up, I saw the official insignia of Westwood Academy; a forest with an angel and a cloaked figure hovering above. Kind of grim if you ask me.

I opened the seal and read through the letter quickly before proceeding with my mission afterwards. The letter had basically told me to memorize the school's rule book before the year started. Not exactly important right now.

While I was making the sandwich, the phone rang. Out of frustration, I almost squashed the sandwich. Why are there so many distractions?!

Making my way towards the phone, I grew more and more annoyed until I all but growled out a, "Hello?"

"Is this the Lynn residence?" the obviously male voice asked. If he had heard the irritation in my voice, then he ignored it. 

"Yes," I snapped back, still angry that he had distracted me from my delicious sandwich in the making.

"Well then, I assume you are Miss Richelle Lynn?" Once again, he had ignored the annoyance in my voice.

"Yeah?" My anger had turned into suspicion. How did he know my name? Why does everyone know my name?!

"This is Westwood Academy calling and we would like to speak to your parents."

"They're not here at the moment."

"Then I should hope you would pass the message to them when they arrive home."

"I will."

"Very well." Though the phone, I could hear paper rustling and a small cough before he resumed talking. "A small parent-teacher meeting will take place tomorrow and we hope that everyone will attend. A new student orientation will also occur on the same day and that is absolutely mandatory for all students entering the school this year to attend."

"Ok."

"That is all. I thank you for your time and I'll see you at the orientation."

I stood there for a second, phone still in hand even though he had hung up already. I slowly put the phone down, one thought on my mind.

He was lying.

Something was important enough to tell my parents that he couldn't tell me. After having people lie in your face for years, you can usually tell if someone is lying or not.

I stood there for a while before returning to my previous task. Food.

~~~~~

That night, I was watching tv when mom returned. I could hear the light crumpling of a paper bag as she turned to close the door. A quiet series of taps followed as she made her way towards the kitchen.

"You know, the school called today," I shouted over my shoulder. I could see mom tense up as she puts the bag of groceries down onto the counter.

"Oh really?" I could hear the slight tremble in her voice. "What did they say?"

I turned back to face the tv again. "Just that there's a parent-teacher meeting and a student orientation being held soon."

"Ah, ok." Her voice relaxed slightly. "Well, dinner's going to be ready soon so, just wait a few more minutes ok?"

"Hmm," I hummed a reply. I obviously wasn't going to get anymore information out of her.

~~~~~

That night, I sat, awake, on the stairs leading to the first floor.

The voices of my parents talking on the phone could be heard from where I sat, but only in quiet whispers.

"...let her know?..."

"...special classes..."

"...others like..."

Even an idiot can understand what they're talking about.

Obviously they still don't think I'm normal if I needed special classes.


	5. Chapter 4

The pictures really doesn't do the school any justice.

As I stepped out of the car with my parents, it took me a few seconds to take everything in.

The main building had a massive air of superiority with the brick walls and giant oak doors. Apparently, the school had been a church before the renovations, but that had taken place in the 1800s. The most recent additions were the separate dorms for boys and girls.

Contrary to popular belief, the school didn't have that many students. Even now, I could only see a few dozen families lingering around near the entrance. The lack of students was due to how strict the enrollment policy is. To be frank, there was probably only around 1,000 students here.

Following the crowd, my parents and I entered through the huge wooden doors into the lobby. There, the crowd split into two groups. Parents headed down the left hall while the new students headed down the right.

I quickly bid goodbye to my parents and turned towards the right hall. I waited for a while and finally set off once there was only two or three people left.

As I made my way into the auditorium, I could see most of the seats up front were taken. Picking my way down to a lower level, I found an area near the back that was almost empty. The closest person is at least 5 seats away from me.

As I sat there, contemplating wether or not I should just leave, a deep voice sounded throughout the entire room.

Everyone's heads snapped up from whatever they were doing to focus on the man standing behind the podium on stage. With his shoulders hunched over, he didn't look much taller than most of the students here. I would say he looked about on his mid-eighties, but the vibe coming off of him just obedience. No. Not obedience. Respect.

"Welcome," even his voice sounded confident, "to Westwood Academy." A pause. "As many of you already know, only one out of a hundred applicants pass, so those of you here are either talented or lucky."

Wow. Great way to make us feel welcomed.

"I am the principal of this school and I hope you all enjoy your time here." Seeing as the principal wasn't going to give his name, many of he students glanced around and started whispering amongst themselves. 

All conversations stopped, however, when someone else entered the stage. This time, it was a woman. Her heels clicked with every step she took. Each step precisely one second apart. Every hair strand in place and not a single wrinkle seen on her suit. You could tell she's a precise person.

She stopped behind the podium and folded her hands together before addressing all of us. "As the principal has already said, we all hope you guys have a wonderful time here. You may address me as Ms Pimentel and I will be serving as a counselor for the remainder of your time here."

The whispering arose once more, but quickly died done again after a point look from Ms Pimentel. 

"Now," she resumed speaking, "I hope that all of you have read and memorized the school's rule book." A chorus of 'yes' and 'maybe' answered her not-exactly-a-question question. "Well, I suppose that will have to do. Since most of you have already memorized them, I will not be going over the rules and regulations."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad I didn't need to sit through something I already knew.

"But," Ms Pimentel suddenly interrupted my thoughts, "we must go over the five golden rules, that if caught broken, can result in, expulsion."

I sat up in my seat. I didn't remember reading about any rules that had such heavy consequences.

"Number 1, all the people here, be it student or faculty, must be treated equally no matter what or who they are."

What they are?

"Number 2, what happens within campus stays within campus."

Guess that explains why there's never any news on this school.

"Number 3, don't stick your nose somewhere it doesn't belong."

They do know that probably just made everyone even more curious, right?

"Number 4, you may not bring in anything from the outside after the initial move in."

Nothing?

"Number 5, no one is there to watch you at all times."

No one...

I suddenly bolted up in my seat. Doesn't that last rule contradict all the rest?

I looked around and saw that many people were confused with this rule as well, but many were grinning too.

Settling back down, I focused my gaze back onto Ms Pimentel.

"For the rest of this orientation, we will be watching a video on the history of Westwood Academy and then we will introduce you to the student council."

Halfway through the video, I almost fell asleep. Almost. If it weren't for a certain someone.

"Hey."

I quickly twisted around towards the person who had appeared behind me without a noise. After spending time in a place that's filled with crazy people, you learn to be alert at all times.

But even years spent in that camp couldn't have prepared me for this.

I didn't know I was crying until I felt something wet plop onto my hand.

"Y-you...b-but...y-you're not..."

"I'm back, Ellie."


	6. Chapter 5

My thoughts were running a thousand miles per second. What were you suppose to do if you saw the childhood friend that probably didn't even exist appear in front of you years later?

Normal people probably would've been happy.

Normal people probably would've been screaming.

But am I normal? No.

I slapped him. Probably hard enough to turn a few near by heads if I bothered to actually look around afterwards. But, no. I stood up and walked out of the auditorium, not caring if he followed or not.

I didn't stop until I reached the parking lot.

After finding my dad's car, I was just about to get in and wait for the orientation to be over when something made me stop.

Why did I leave? Wouldn't normal people stay?

At this very moment, I could see why people would call me insane.

I finally met him again, but left. That's not much better than what he did.

"You know, banging your head against a car isn't exactly healthy."

I turned around and was just about to yell at him to leave me alone when I froze.

"Um...hi?" It wasn't him. It was the guy from the store.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Great. Another person who manages to sneak up on me.

"What is any kid doing here?" He walked closer and leaned against another car parked next to ours.

I let out a sigh before remembering the thing I wanted to ask him. "How do you know my name?"

He smirked before answering. "I have my ways." Not exactly helpful.

"Well, can you look someone up for me?" Honestly, I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Asking a suspicious stranger to look up information on someone who may or may not be part of my hallucination? What has the world come to?

"Have a name?"

"No."

"Age?"

"Not exactly."

"Appearance?"

"Sort of."

"I'm not a magician you know."

"I know."

"Great." He let out a frustrated sigh. "Just give me what you have on him."

"Why are so sure their a he?"

"Word travels fast."

"Right." I gave him an annoyed look. "He's roughly my height and has dark hair and possibly wears glasses."

He gave me a pointed look and was probably going to say something but before he did, I interrupted.

"I know it's not much to go on, but it was dark and I left after slapping him."

"Right." He stood up and brushed his jacket off. "Well, I'll see what I can find out."

He was about to walk away when I stopped him.

"Wait; what's your name?"

He froze and seem to be deep in thought before finally answering. "Ryan."

"Just Ryan?"

"Yeah. For now."

Ugh.

"Well, Ryan, how are you going to give me the info?"

He let out a small chuckle before turning away from me. "It's a secret."

UGH. Hate guys like him.


	7. Chapter 6

To be honest, spending 3 hours waiting in a parking lot wasn't exactly my best idea.

To say my parents weren't surprised would be an understatement.

After we got home, I was sent back to my room while my parents discussed some details. No doubt about those "special classes".

It wasn't until I heard my mom's voice telling me there was someone here to see me, that I went downstairs.

"Ellie?" I heard mom's voice before I even saw her.

"Yeah?" I shouted back, freezing in my steps as I turned the corner.

"Hi."

"Oh." I immediately slouched from my rigid position. "You."

Mom's head turned between me and...Ryan. Just Ryan.

"Um...am I missing something?"

I quickly waves her off. "No, we met during the orientation and I asked him to look something up for me."

Motioning for Ryan to follow me, I made my way towards the stairs. I heard a quiet, "Sorry for intruding," before light foot steps sounded from behind me.

I was about to shut the door when I decided otherwise.

"MOM, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK SO WIPE THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE."

I heard a faint chuckle before turning around to SEE a stupid grin.

"You too."

Ryan held his hands up in defeat but failed to wipe the smile off his face.

"So," I sat down on a nearby chair, "how did you find me?"

"Secret."

"Right. Well, what did you find?"

He leaned forward and held out a file.

"Well," he started, "from the almost nonexistent information you gave me, I pulled out quite a few names."

I gave him a pointed stare. "How is that going to help me?"

Ryan let out a small laugh before answering. "I actually found one particular person quite interesting."

"Who is he?"

"Check the file."

I opened the folder to see his face stare back at me. Black hair, dull eyes, and glasses.

"Blake?"

"Yep. Just Blake."

"14 years old, male, and everything else is unknown or under tight security." Ryan's expression turned dark but the smile was still evident on his face. "Interesting fellow you've got your eyes on."

"I don't have my eyes on him!"

"Right..."

Ugh. I was quick to chuck the file at him, preferably the face. He ducked. Too bad.

I settled back into the chair before continuing our conversation. "He's just a friend I haven't seen in a really long time."

Ryan's face suddenly lost its smile but just as quickly, the smile came back as if it was never gone. If I had blinked, I probably would have missed the subtle transformation.

I was about to ask him about it when we were interrupted by a knock out the door. It slowly opened to reveal my mom's face.

"Uh...sorry to intrude but there's someone else who wants to see you." Mom pointed downstairs as she spoke to signal that the visitor is still downstairs waiting.

I followed my mom downstairs after telling Ryan to just wait here and not touch anything. The response I received was an ok sign and a small childish wink that made him look like a freaking 5 year old.

I made a face before slamming the door shut.

As I made my way down the staircase, a bad feeling started to for inside of me.

It couldn't be him; right?

But no. I just had to have the worst luck ever.

Blake was sitting right there, on the couch. Drinking. Tea. What. The F.

"When did we start keeping tea in this house?" I asked, more like whispered to, my mom.

"I don't know," my mom answered, also whispering.

"Great."

"I'll just give you guys some privacy." Mom said this as she slowly backed away into the kitchen.

After mom left the room, I walked over to Blake and slammed my hands down onto the table in front of him.

"Why are you here?" I questioned.

Blake looked up from the tea cup in his hands and gave a small smile before replying. "Can't I visit an old friend?"

"Friends don't leave each other behind for years," I retorted, sitting down slightly in the coffee table. "Plus, normal friends don't exist and then not exist the next second."

Blake leaned forward and placed the now empty cup down. "Who says I'm normal?

I stared at him for a second. "Did you just admit you don't exist?"

"Not normal and not existent are two different things."

"Fine. Then why did you leave?"

Blake, at this point, lowered his head. "I had to."

I shot up from my seat. "You had to?" I could hear myself getting louder. "I bet you have to go now too; right? Just disappear into thin air again?" I started pacing back and forth at this point. "What do you think you are? God?"

After my tiny fit, I could see Blake stiffen slightly out of the corner of my eye.

Blake took a deep breath and leaned back. "I'm sorry ok?"

I stood there, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge his words.

The silence dragged on until mom came back into the room with a plate of cookies. She looked around for a second before asking, "Oh, did he leave already?"

I turned around and almost couldn't hide my surprise when I saw the empty sofa. "Yeah...said he had something to do."

"Well then, what to do?" Mom looked down at the cookies in her hands.

Taking them from her, I turned towards the stairs. "I'll take these."

"You're going to eat these yourself?" she asked.

"No."

"Then who are you going to give it to?"

"Ryan. Who else?"

"Ryan?"

"Yeah."

"Who's Ryan?"

"Ryan. You know. The guy that just walked in through the front door like a hour ago."

"Uh..."

"Blonde hair, piercings, and multicolored eyes?"

"Oh! Ryan. Yes...must be my old age."

"Yeah...old age."

I turned away and made my way upstairs. Opening the door, I paused before closing it. Turning around, I came to face Ryan flipping through a book and smirking.

"Having trouble with an old boyfriend?"

I glared at him as I placed the plate of cookies on my desk. "Not my boyfriend."

Ryan's smirk only grew bigger. "I said old boyfriend."

"He's just an old friend."

"Right."

"Whatever."

Ryan closed the book and grabbed a few cookies as he went to the door.

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"What? Sad to see me go?" Ryan turned to look at me.

"No. Quite the opposite actually."

"I'm hurt."

"Like I care. Get out of my room."

"Fine, fine. See you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Remember? First day of school? You might want to start packing by the way."

"School. Right."

School. Great. Just what I need right now.


	8. Chapter 7

"Call us if you need anything."

"Ok."

"See you soon."

"Ok."

I stood there, suitcases in hand, watching the car drive away.

It felt nostalgic.

After standing there for a few more minutes, I turned and headed for the main building.

Reaching the lobby, I was met with a line of new students. Getting into said line, I craned my head and counted 9 more people in front of me.

After standing for like 10 minutes doing math problems in my head(Yes, I was that bored.), I arrived in front of the check-in table. 

"Name?" The girl sitting here didn't even bother looking up.

"Lynn."

"First name?"

"Do you need to know?"

She lifted her head and gave me an annoyed look before turning to shuffle through some folders.

I stood there for a while before she finally held out a folder with my full name on the cover.

"Inside is your schedule, dorm number and keys, and student ID, which you will need to access the dorms, get meals, and make purchases from the store on campus."

I gave a all nod and a curt "Thank you," before walking away.

Once outside, I decided to take a look at the contents of the folder.

Inside I found everything the girl said would be there and a map of the entire school grounds.

Following the map, I found myself in front of what's hopefully my dorm.

Tilting my head back, I saw "Mortal" carved into the wall above the door.

Mortal?

A series of quiet footsteps made me go rigid.

A loud "Hey!" made me turn around.

A girl with dyed pastel pink and blue hair greeted me with a small wave and a smile. Judging from her appearance she seemed about my age, but looks can be deceiving.

"Are you new here?" the nameless girl asked.

"Yeah."

"Great!" The girl quickly rushed over and grabbed my hands. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. "The it's lucky you found me!"

"Uh..." More like she found me.

"Oh!" She lets go of my hands with a surprised look and straightened up with a smile. "My name is Lauren Salvay and I'm part of the student residence hall associated."

"Uh...great?"

"I'll show you around the dorm!"

"Thanks?"

"Let's go!"

Lauren walks up the steps and swipes her ID card on a pad next to the door. "Don't lose your ID since you'll need it to access practically everything on campus."

I hummed in acknowledgement and followed Lauren inside.

As Lauren showed me around, she also explained to me what the whole deal with the "Mortal" was.

"It's like an old outdated school tradition. You have to remember the fact that his use to be a church so it was quite religious at first. In the old times, instead of calling the 4 different grades years, they use to refer to them as 'Mortals'. 'Angels', 'Fallens', and 'Unseens'. It's sort of like a cycle." Lauren suddenly stopped. "By the way, what's your room number?"

After checking my folder again, I told her that it was 332.

"Eh~," a noise that could only be described and whiny came from Lauren's mouth. "The top floor? Lucky~. I was stuck on the first floor as a freshman."

I followed Lauren up the stairs and before I knew it, we arrived in front of room 332.

"Currently you're he only one living in this room," Lauren explained as she motioned for the keys, which I gave her.

Opening the door, she stepped in and I followed.

The room wasn't all that extraordinary. A bed and closet sat against the left wall. A desk say under the window on the middle wall. The right wall was annoyingly empty. Reminded me of that room.

As I looked around, Lauren walked over to the door. "Well, if you need anything then just call me!" The door closed.

She didn't give me her number.

As soon as that bought finished, the door opened and Lauren's head popped in. She gave me a sheepish grin before handing my a slip of paper. "Sorry, forgot you don't have my number..."

I stood there, slip in hand, as Lauren went towards the door once again. "Also, don't ever leave the dorm after 10." With that, she shut the door once more.

Curfew at 10, huh? This place has an overwhelming amount of rules.

After checking the room over, I started unpacking.

One hour later, I collapsed onto the bed.

Sitting up, I picked up the folder again and looked over my schedule. Nothing looked out of place except for the last class. Special Ed.

I stood up and almost threw my schedule away before deciding otherwise. Placing the piece of paper on the desk, I sat back down onto the bed. Lying down, I almost fell asleep when a knock interrupted me.

No, not from the door.

From the window.

A window on the third story.


	9. Chapter 8

I stood up and made my way over to the window.

To be honest, I've never believed in this while shenanigan with ghosts and phantoms. So, I did what every rational person wouldn't have done. 

I yanked opened the curtains and proceeded to slam open the windows right after.

Honestly, I cringed. Not from fear, but annoyance.

"Oh come on! Is my face that scary?"

"Yes. It's terrifying." I moved aside as the intruder jumped in.

Ryan stood from his crouched position on the floor and brushed his jacket off. "I'm hurt! Plus, you're the one who let me in."

"Yes, after you scaled the girl's dorm's walls." I walked over and closed the windows.

"Well, that's one way to put it."

"So what did you want?"

Ryan sat down on top of the desk and gave me a cheeky grin. "Can't I visit a friend?"

"In the middle of the night? No." I sat down on the bed and gave him a peeved look.

"It's only 9:30."

"...what are you here for?"

"I didn't see you in the lobby so I did some snooping around to find your room."

"Stalker?"

Ryan let out a nervous chuckle.

He's not denying it...

I shook my head and repeated the question. "What are you doing here?"

"To exchange information." He held up a piece of paper.

I took it and Ryan took my schedule that was still out on the desk.

Upon closer inspection, the paper I was holding turned out to be Ryan's schedule. His last name had been crossed out. Of course. He knows everything about me and I don't even know his last name.

Scanning the list, I saw that it was fairly similar to mine. Well...scratch that. It was pretty much identical. Strangely identical.

"I thought all schedules are different." I looked up to see Ryan with a smirk on his face.

"It's not that hard after you pull some strings."

Jeez. Looking back down at the schedule, my eyes fell onto the last class. Special Ed.

Lifting my head back up, I gave him a confused look. "You have Special Ed.?"

"Not exactly."

"Then why is it on your schedule?"

"I'm a teacher's aid."

"Oh."

Ryan stood up and stretched before giving me my schedule back and snatching his schedule from my hands. "Welp." He looked over at the clock that read 9:55. "I better head back before it gets too late."

Right. Curfew at 10.

"See you at class tomorrow!" Ryan climbed onto the desk and opened the window.

"Yeah. Maybe."

I watched as Ryan jumped out the window towards the tree that stood parallel to our building.

I closed the window after he reached the ground and turned away once he started sprinting.

Wait. I turned towards the window again. Something seemed off.

I continued to watch as Ryan ran into the distance. I stepped away once he disappeared from my view.

Lauren had said that no one was permitted out of their dorm after 10.

Ryan had said that he needed to go before it gets too late.

He was heading for his dorm. No; quite the opposite actually.

He was running in the direction of the main building.


	10. Chapter 9

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my alarm.

6:30 AM.

I let out a sigh before getting up. I'll probably never get use to waking up early for school.

Drawing back the curtains, I let the dull light shine in. Even the sun thinks it's too early to be up.

Beginning today, the actual classes will be starting.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I gathered all the toiletries I needed.

Leaving my room, I made my way to the showers on the first floor.

In the adjourned locker room, I switched my pjs for a towel and chose an empty stall. Well...all of the stalls were empty actually. Guess it's still too early for most people to be up. In fact, I didn't see anyone on my way down.

After showering, brushing my teeth, and getting back in my pjs, I returned to room 332. On the trip back, I passed by a few other girls. Most of them I vaguely remembered seeing at the orientation.

Locking the door behind me, I got dressed for the day.

Seeing that it was only 6:50, I decided to draw for a few minutes to pass the time. It helped to have a way to vent out your frustrations.

At 7:15, I stood to gather everything u needed for my morning classes. Shoving it all neatly into my bag, I checked over my list again. 

At 7:30, I promptly slung the bag overly shoulder and left my room. This left me enough time to make it to class and have some time left to spare.

As I made my way down the halls, I past by an opened door leading into another dorm room. 2 girls were looking out the window and chatting animatedly.

The next few rooms were the same.

A bad feeling starts forming in my gut and only got worst as I neared the door.

Stopping in front of the front door, I took a deep breath before pushing them open.

"Hey what's u-"

I rushed past him without even a sideways glance.

Nope. Nopenopenopenopenope.

I picked up the pace when I heard footsteps.

It wasn't long before he caught up.

"Why'd you run away?"

"First of all, I walked away; and second of all, it'll look weird if a boy shows up in front of the girls' dorm waiting for me."

"Eh~" Ryan let out a teasing laugh. "Are you embarrassed?"

"No! I just want to live a normal life and not stand out! This is the complete opposite of that!"

"But that's boring!" Ryan all but whined. How can a 14 year old male end up sounding like a 5 year old child?

"Ugh!" I just gave up trying to explain.

After trying to out walk Ryan for a few minutes, I gave up on that too.

We eventually fell into line with each other.

Our conversations were quite one sided. Most of it consisted of him telling jokes and storied. If was occasionally interrupted by my hums and disgruntled...grunts.

Arriving at the main building where all of the classes were held, the events from last night came back to me.

Looking at Ryan from the corner of my eye, I contemplated whether or not I should ask him.

"Hey, about last night-" I was interrupted by an abrupt shove that almost sent me toppling over had I not heard the set of footsteps approaching.

Righting myself, I saw three girls walk pass.

I made eye contact with the one in front. Within that shirt exchange, I could see the quiet hatred that basically oozed off of her.

Great. I made an enemy before classes even started. That's gotta be a record.

~~~~~

Ryan and I made it through the door of our homeroom as the warning bell sounded; 10 minutes left before class starts.

I chose a seat in the back and, of course, Ryan chose the one next to me.

As it started getting closer to the start of class, more and more people piled in.

As if reminded of something, Ryan perked up in his seat and turned towards me. "I forgot to warn you, but-"

My attention focused onto the door as he walked in.

"-Blake's in this class too."

I frozen as Blake made his way towards us and plopped down in the other seat next to me.

Even though he hasn't said a thing yet, I could feel the tension spike.

Glancing to my right, I could see Ryan's perpetual smile stiffen.

The room turned silent. All eyes turned to stare at us. Maybe not for all the same reasons but the looks were there.

The tension broke, however, when the bell ringed and the teacher walked in.

~~~~~

The class had gone by relevantly normal.

It was completely boring though since I already knew everything they taught today.

As soon as the bell ringed, I gathered my notes and rushed out the room.

Using the 10 minutes I had before the next class starts, I walked out to the courtyard to calm myself.

It wasn't even a minute before I heard someone behind me.

Thinking it was Ryan, I turned to see Blake standing there.

My face instantly morphed into a scowl.

I moved to leave when he grabbed onto my wrist.

"Let go."

"We need to talk."

"We did, now let go."

"Just listen to me."

I sighed before turning to look at him.

The word "no" was strong on my mind as I opened my mouth to speak.

"Fine, we'll talk at lunch."

What?

Did I say that?

I stood, frozen with shock at my own words. Blake let out a small smile, never losing eye contacts with me.

I couldn't look away.

Is this hypnosis?

I can't move. I can't move. Ican'tmoveIcan'tmoveIcan'tmoveIcan'tmoveIcan'tmove.

My breath became ragged.

I have to escape. Escape. Escapeescapeescapeescapeescapeescapeescape.

I was about to go into an all out panic attack when a hand came to rest in my shoulder from behind.

Letting out a breath I didn't even realize I had began holding, my heart stopped pounding.

Still in a daze, all I knew was that someone was leading me away from Blake.

The person say me down on a bench.

I turned towards the direction I thought I had come from.

My head cleared just in time for me to see Ryan whisper something into Blake's ear.

But that wasn't what caught my attention.

It was their expressions.

Blake's face was almost expressionless. Any emotion that might have slipped through was hidden by his glasses and hair.

But Ryan. THE Ryan that was always smiling.

I can't even begin to describe what showed through his face.


	11. Chapter 10

For the rest of the morning, Ryan followed me almost everywhere I went.

At first, it was annoying. After a bit, it gave me an odd sense of security.

The class before lunch though, he finally brought up the subject we had both been avoiding.

"Are you really going to go see him?"

I looked up absent-mindedly before answering. "Yeah."

"Why?"

"I always keep my words."

"But those weren't your words."

"I said it so it's my words."

Ryan sighed before leaning back into his chair.

"Fine, but don't expect me to come and save you this time."

I let out a small snort before returning to my book.

~~~~~

As the lunch bell rings, Ryan quickly packed his bag and rushed out the room.

I, on the other hand, tried to pack everything as slowly as I can.

Returning to my room to get supplies for afternoon classes, I wondered a few times whether or not I should actually meet up with Blake.

Realizing that I didn't know where we were suppose to meet, I made my way towards the courtyard.

Sitting down in a bench, I started reading to past the time.

After several minutes passed, I was just about to leave when something fell onto my head. The object bounced onto the ground.

Picking it up, I found that it was an elaborate mini paper airplane.

Unfolding it, I could see a hassle scribbled note.

"Sorry I can't make it right now.  
Meet me at 9 in the library."

Crumpling the note, I threw it away as I entered my next class.

I was slightly peeved by the fact that Blake, who wanted to meet up, decides not to show.

Fuming, I didn't notice the three girls that ha stalked up to my desk.

"Hey!"

I didn't look up on the basis that the person speaking didn't really direct the greeting towards me.

"I'm talking to you Lynn."

At least she's not stupid.

Lifting my head, I shot an uninterested stare at the speaker.

As expected, they were the girls that had bumped into me this morning.

The one in front had curly blonde hair and seemed like a snotty rich kid.

The other two looked identical. Definitely twins. Both looked pretty mundane compared to the leader. Brown hair and eyes. I probably wouldn't have been able to pick hem out of a crowd.

My attention went back to the blonde once she started speaking again. "I think you know why I'm here."

I let out a sigh before answering. "I don't even know your name; how am I suppose to know why you're here?"

Irritation flashed across her face before she introduced herself.

"Celia Salvay." She paused for a second. "The one on the right is Ava Weil and the left is Emma Weil."

Salvay?

That perked my interest. "Is Lauren your sister?"

Celia looked surprised at first but it quickly changed to neutral. "Yeah. She is. How did you know?"

"She showed me around the dorm and we're...friends. Sort of."

Celia let out a sigh before getting back on topic. "Anyways, just so you know, stay away from Ryan and Blake."

"Why? Because if you think I'm interested in them romantically then you're wrong."

Her face morphed into a grimace. "It's for your own good, too. It's not good to hang out with their kind."

I was about to ask her what she meant when the warning bell rung and Celia, followed by Ava and Emma, turned towards the door.

They left just as Ryan came in.

I turned my gaze away from him as he sat down.

With a tired sigh, Ryan laid his head down in the table and fell asleep.

I sat there for a while, questioning his character.

Was he really just someone that's trying to help?

Can I trust him?

I leaned back onto my chair. 

What did Celia mean by his kind?


	12. Chapter 11

Ryan woke up as the bell ringed.

He sat up and stretched before turning to face me with a smile. 

He looked tired.

Black bags hung from his eyes and his skin was paler than usual. 

"Are you ok?" I ask.

Ryan seemed startled for a second before replying, "Yeah, fine."

The teacher walked in before I could question him further.

How can he go from being perfectly healthy to looking like he's been sick for weeks during lunch?

~~~~~

As the last bell ringed to signal the end of the school day, we, being Ryan and I, headed towards the library to check out some books for our 50-Page Science Report. Yes. Homework. On the first day of school. Huzzah.

As we scanned our ID's to get through the entrance, I spotted Lauren at a table in the corner.

Excusing myself, I walked towards Lauren as Ryan went to get the necessary books.

"Hey."

Lauren looked at me, surprised at the sudden greeting.

"Oh! Hi! Richelle, right?" Lauren shot me a bright smile.

"Yeah, but Ellie is fine," I said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Ok then Ellie; what can I help you with?"

"I was just wondering but do you have a sister named Celia?"

"Celia?" Lauren looked almost shocked. "Oh no, what did she do now?"

"Uh...she talked to me."

"What did she say? Did she say anything bad? Did she hurt you? Did she say anything weird? Did she? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Uh..." I scooted over a little as Lauren rambled off. "She only told me to be careful of Ryan and Blake."

"Oh." Lauren sat back down into her seat and almost had a far off look. "So that's all."

"Yeah but to be honest, I don't really know what she's talking about."

"Don't worry about!" Lauren gave me a reassuring smile that looked almost fake. "They were just both kind of famous in their previous schools to get into a lot of trouble."

I hummed in acknowledgement before bidding good bye and leaving to go find Ryan.

She was lying. But about what?

I thought about this as I walked between the shelves absentmindedly. A book, however, caught my attention and snapped me from my stupor. 

"Secrets of Church Mysins"

Church Mysins? The name seemed familiar.

Making my way towards the front desk of the library, I found a bunch of school brochures.

The church which had been knocked down to make room for the school was called Mysins.

Rushing back towards where I left the book I flipped it open and scanned through for anything that catches my attention.

Stopping at a page somewhere in the middle, I read the title of the section. 

"Legend of the Fallens"

I marked the page and brought the book to the counter for check out.

The librarian seemed almost bored and didn't seem to question my incessant foot tapping.

As soon as the book was scanned, I grabbed it and stuffed it into my bag.

I walked around for a while more before finally finding Ryan in the graphic novel section.

I stood there and waited to be noticed.

A few minutes passed until Ryan finally looked up from the comic in his hand. He gave me a cheeky grin.

"Um...hi?"

I gave him a questioning stare.

"Uh...was that not what I should've said?"

Silently, I took the comic from his hand and conked him upside the head. I would add in gently but then that would make it a lie.

I sat down, ignoring Ryan's whimpers of pain. "Did you get the books?"

Ryan looked up with tears in his eyes and let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh, some of them?"

"Some?" I held up the book again.

He quickly held out his hands in defense.

A few agonizingly slow seconds passed before Ryan suddenly bolted up and started running. I slowly gathered up all the books he left behind and sprinted after him.

~~~~~

As I made my way back to my room after spending a hour chasing Ryan, I suddenly remembered the note.

After checking the time, it was 8:30, I walked back towards the library.

Reaching the entrance, I realized that the library was closed. I looked around a bit more before returning to the doors.

Deciding to wait a bit more, I sat down on the ground.

It was a few minutes later that Blake decided to finally show up.

He looked almost surprised to see me. "You actually came."

It wasn't really question; like he didn't expect me but also did at the same time.

I stood up. "Yeah, I keep my promises unlike a certain someone."

My scrutinizing tone didn't seem to have any effects on him.

"Anyways, what did you want to talk about?"

"...uh..."

He did not.

"Um...can't we just catch up with each other?"

I sighed as he lets out a small nervous chuckle.

"...fine."

We ended up sitting on the ground for the next 30 minutes talking about anything and everything.

It almost felt like the old times but there was that small unspoken nervousness there. 

After sitting there for a while, I stood up and stretched before declaring that I had to head back to my room. 

"Oh...ok, I'll see you in class tomorrow then." Blake stood up and fixed his glasses before heading back to the boy's dormitory. 

I made my own way back to the girl's dormitory and entered my room right before 10.

Locking the door, I collapsed onto my bed before remembering the book I had checked out earlier today.

Picking up my discarded bag, I shifted through its contents before pulling out "Secrets of Church Mysins".

Flipping to were I had marked the page, I started reading.


End file.
